Ant Gritton
Chicago Marathon
ChicagoCompleted, M35-39Ant's headline numbers
Ant's strategy
Fueling
T - 1-4hrs: Ate a carb rich meal (Low in fat & fibre)
T - 15mins: Took in a final dose of carb
"I felt fairly flat, but I don’t think that was carb-related, but more due to the travel and general fatigue of racing abroad."
On race morning, Ant stuck to what he knew worked for him; porridge with honey, a PF 30 Chew and a black coffee. He made the smart choice to top up his carbohydrate stores with a PF 30 Caffeine Gel in the 30 minutes before the start. It was a tough day out for Ant because travel fatigue and a niggling Achilles injury took a real toll on his energy levels. Despite this, his fueling held up well. He averaged ~83g of carb per hour with no stomach discomfort, which is close to the 90g/h that science would recommend. We know from his extensive racing experience that Ant can handle a much higher carb intake. In a future marathon without the added fatigue, we’d expect his carb intake to increase again and his performance to benefit.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Ant1351mg/L
Ant has been Sweat Tested to dial in his hydration plan
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Given Ant's losses are High (1,351mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy remains important, even when it's Mild.
Learn moreT - 60mins: Drank ~500ml of strong electrolyte drink
"I started with a soft flask, and stopped to refill it in the second half as it got very hot."
As a salty sweater who also tops the sweat rate leaderboard in the Precision Performance Lab, Ant has to pay close attention to his hydration strategy. His attention to detail showed in how well his relative sodium concentration matched his known sweat sodium concentration of 1,315mg of sodium per litre. He carried a Soft Flask of PH 1500 for the first hour of the race, which got his intake off to a strong start, then switched to plain water alongside some energy gels containing 250mg of sodium. To build on this for next time, Ant can aim to increase his fluid intake. His intake fell short of the 500ml per hour we’d recommend, so he might want to consider refilling his Soft Flask once more (and adding an Electrolyte Capsule to maintain the relative sodium concentration) in future.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
T - 0-4hrs: Had a final hit of caffeine
Ant’s caffeine strategy consisted of 200mg of caffeine from two PF 30 Caffeine Gels, one on the start line, and one at halfway. He just fell short of the 3-6mg of caffeine per kilogram range recommended to achieve the performance benefits of the stimulant. As a result, he would benefit from adding one additional PF 30 Caffeine Gel during the race, which may also further support his energy levels.
How Ant hit his numbers
Here's everything that Ant ate and drank on the day...
Final thoughts
“It’s not the time I wanted or what I should have ran, but it was a great place to race in the US - the marathons there are bonkers, so I had a good time once I’d reset my goals.”
“For a challenging race, Ant fueled and hydrated with the expertise we would expect from such an experienced athlete. Getting more fluid on board would be the next focus, there’s no doubt that he will get back out and smash his original goals.”
PF&HAnt's full stats
Data Confidence
We rate each of our case studies from 1-5 based on the level of accuracy, and our confidence in the data.
There is an adequate level of accuracy in the data collected and the numbers reported. The athlete manages to recall what they ate and drank including most specifics (brands flavours quantities plausible estimations of volumes). However there are estimations made within the data which affect the overall confidence level in the data reported.